PHAEDRATangerine DreamVirgin V-2010 (1974)“Average”Ambient
Jukebox picks: “Phaedra” (7.1) • “Movements of a Visionary” (5.6) • “Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares” (5.1)With the preceding LP “Atem” having been named “album of the year” by John Peel, the hipsters were all ears for Tangerin...more →

EXCITABLE BOYWarren ZevonAsylum Records 6E-118 (1978)“Average”Soft Rock / A.O.R.
Jukebox picks: “Werewolves Of London” (10) • “Excitable Boy” (6.6) • “Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner” (6.2)The third album from the 30-year-old wry-rocker gave him his only Top 10 success on the album front, and his only Top 40...more →

DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWNBruce SpringsteenColumbia JC-35318 (1978)“Average”Rock
Jukebox picks: “Factory” (7.7) • “Candy's Room” (6.6) • “Darkness On The Edge Of Town” (6.1)Shockingly, legal wrangles delayed Springsteen's follow up to “Born To Run” for almost three whole years, but the highly...more →

FREE WILLGil Scott-HeronFlying Dutchman FD-10153 (1972)“Average”Hip Hop / Rap; Jazz
Jukebox picks: “Ain’t No New Thing” (8.7) • “The King Alfred Plan” (6.7) • “No Knock” (6.5)An album of two distinct halves; the jazz-centric side one (4.70) carrying on where last years “Pieces Of A Man” left of...more →

AUTOMATAutomatEMI 3C-064-18323 (1978)“Average”Electronica
Jukebox picks: “Mecadence” (6.2) • “Ultraviolet” (5.5) • “Droid” (5.3)Italian composer Romano Musumarra was keen to get a pioneering album of electronica out into the marketplace, and with t...more →

MOTTMott The HoopleCBS S-69038 (1973)“Below average”Rock
Jukebox picks: “I Wish I Was Your Mother” (7.7) • “All The Way From Memphis” (6.0) • “Drivin’ Sister” (5.9)Sixth album from the Hertfordhsire glam-rockers, one of the best of the dubious genre, even if they do ham it up a bit t...more →

EAST OF THE RIVER NILEAugustus PabloMessage DSR-7108 (1978)“Below average”Reggae
Jukebox picks: “Natural Way” (6.8) • “East Of The River Nile” (6.2) • “Chant To King Selassie I” (6.0)2 years passed before Pablo delivered the follow-up to “King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown”, in the meantime he was occupi...more →

COOL FOR CATSSqueezeA&M Records AMLH-68503 (1979)“Below average”New Wave; Pop
Jukebox picks: “Up The Junction” (10) • “Cool For Cats” (9.4) • “Slap And Tickle” (8.2)13 months on from their debut, the London five continue to frustrate on their second long-player, delivered in April '79...more →

BOMBERMotörheadBronze BRON-523 (1979)“Below average”Rock
Jukebox picks: “Poison” (6.3) • “Step Down” (6.1) • “All The Aces” (5.8)Arriving in October '79 was the second album of the year from the re-energized group, just 7 months after “Overkill”. It...more →

LET IT BEThe BeatlesApple Records PXS-1 (1970)“Below average”Blues Rock / Soul Rock
Jukebox picks: “Get Back” (7.1) • “For You Blue” (6.8) • “Two Of Us” (6.6)Most of “Let It Be” was recorded in January 1969, before the recording and release of the album “Abbey Road”. Unhappy wi...more →

TEA FOR THE TILLERMANCat StevensIsland Records ILPS-9135 (1970)“Below average”Songwriter; Folk
Jukebox picks: “Where Do The Children Play?” (6.8) • “Sad Lisa” (6.1) • “Wild World” (6.0)The fourth album from the multi-talented Londoner who wrote all the songs, sang, played all sorts of guitars and keyboar...more →

ARRIVALABBAPolar POLS-272 (1976)“Below average”Pop
Jukebox picks: “Knowing Me, Knowing You” (7.0) • “Why Did It Have To Be Me?” (6.8) • “Dancing Queen” (6.7)Confounding those who predicted that they'd fade as quickly as their firework exploded, ABBA went from strength to stren...more →

I FEEL GOOD!John Lee HookerCarson LP-3662 (1970)“Below average”Blues / Rhythm n Blues
Jukebox picks: “Dazie Mae” (6.5) • “I Feel Good” (5.9) • “Roll And Tumble” (5.7)Recorded in Paris - a city that loved it's blues at the time - in October '69. It's a small band set up with John Lee Ho...more →

REALITYJames BrownPolydor PD-6039 (1974)“Below average”Disco / Funk
Jukebox picks: “All For One” (6.4) • “Further On Up The Road” (6.2) • “Funky President (People It’s Bad)” (5.8)The vitality of 1972 seems a long way away already… he’s hanging on in there… the first half of the album offers some de...more →

ABBAABBAPolar POLS-262 (1975)“Below average”Pop
Jukebox picks: “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do” (8.3) • “SOS” (7.7) • “So Long” (7.6)The European Cup winners of 1974 continued their good form into ’75 with their classic 1-2-2 formation – with Stig at th...more →

USKHANDAMAYEZAThe TulipsRing RG-K-1025 (1978)“Below average”Africana; Pop
Jukebox picks: “Mama Ka Sibongile” (7.0) • “Sofasilahlane” (6.5) • “Uskhandamayeza” (5.9)In the disco era, an mbaqanga-soul fusion is proving to be popular in South Africa, and this release on the EMI subsidia...more →

COUNTRY KEEPSAKESWanda JacksonCapitol ST-11161 (1973)“Below average”Country
Jukebox picks: “Tennesee Women’s Prison” (6.9) • “I Don’t Believe I’ll Fall In Love Today” (6.4) • “I Don’t Know How To Tell Him” (6.2)Only in March, and already Wanda has her second LP of '73 in the shops. The prolific and hard-working artist has had a n...more →

SAIL AWAYRandy NewmanReprise Records MS-2064 (1972)“Below average”Crooner / Cabaret; Songwriter
Jukebox picks: “Burn On” (8.0) • “Old Man” (6.0) • “Lonely at the Top” (5.9)Keeping up his record of a new LP every two years, the third new music album from the 28-year-old singer-songwriter arri...more →